August 12, 2013
The concept is simple: A consistent practice of prayer allows more possibilities for God in a person’s life.
That is why Paulist Evangelization Ministries has recently published The Book of Catholic Prayer for Every Day, a guide to prayer that includes a combination of Scripture passages, Psalms, intentions, meditations and prayers for the morning, midday, evening and night.
“Only a consistent practice of prayer keeps your heart and mind open to the power of God in your life,” explained PEM President Father Frank DeSiano, CSP. “Catholic prayer practice and piety started disintegrating on a steady basis about 50 years ago, so there is a vacuum we are trying to fill. It’s about the daily discipleship of prayer, especially for families.”
The books are available individually for $3, or even less per book for bulk orders. So far, more than 15,000 have been sold, including eight parishes that bought the books for the entire congregation.
“Prayer can allow transformation to happen in our lives,” Father DeSiano said, “huge changes.”
Life changes can also come about when a person encounters the Church for the first time, or perhaps has misconceptions about the Church clarified.
PEM plans to ship sample boxes of its new Neighbors Reaching Neighbors program to parishes in September. The kit contains materials that can evangelize entire communities, including informational DVDs, door hangers and booklets. The booklets cover topics such as: “5 Misconceptions of the Catholic Church,” “5 Reasons to Consider the Catholic Church,” “What Can the Catholic Church Offer Me” and “Got Problems? Maybe You Already Know the Answer.”
“The general reluctance and fear of Catholics when it comes to sharing faith and inviting others has been a major hindrance to evangelization and the growth of our faith,” explained Father DeSiano. “Often the problem is that parishes cannot imagine what they can do because they don’t have resources – material – that they can use. So we wanted to provide a range of tools that would help parishes imagine how they can reach out, and have materials for them to use in doing this. We recognize that parishes are different – our manual talks about how these resources can be used in rural areas, urban areas or various kinds of suburban environments.”
The sample kits will contain materials for 25 neighbor visits, and “parishes can then order the specific materials they want as they think about reaching others,” said Father DeSiano.
Never lacking for new ideas to spread the Word, PEM has become “one of the places you go to when you think of the New Evangelization,” said Father DeSiano said. “We are unique in the Catholic universe because not only are we talking about the New Evangelization, but developing the resources and training to do it.”